I Have A Qi Fortune Altar.
Chapter 347 - 347 319

Chapter 347: 319 Chapter 347: 319 Wang Ping stared with widened eyes, unable to believe the scene before him. He blinked subconsciously and, once assured it was not his own illusion, he hurriedly stepped forward, raising his voice:

“Yuan bro, you’ve returned!”

Dismounting from his horse, Chen Yuan walked up to Wang Ping with a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth, and patted his shoulder, saying:

“You’ve lost quite a bit of weight, lad. Have you been frequenting Yanyu Building often?”

Upon hearing this, Wang Ping’s face showed a hint of embarrassment. When Chen Yuan had left, he had secretly set goals for himself, yet he hadn’t persisted for more than a few months.

When he became the arrest officer, the corrupt influences from the outside world hit him face-on, making it even harder for him to resist. In the small Ping’an County, he was considered a significant figure, with many people seeking his help with various matters.

Not to mention, due to Chen Yuan, even the County Magistrate and other high officials were reluctant to provoke him.

Of course, Wang Ping was aware of his limits and never misused Chen Yuan’s name to commit wrongs. His actions were always within the bounds of the rules.

Previously, the County Magistrate had hinted at him to go to Nanling Prefecture to ask Chen Yuan for a favor, but he had pretended not to know and declined outright.

He knew well that Yuan bro was a man meant for great things, while he was just an ordinary person. It was fine if he couldn’t offer help, but he must never cause him trouble.

The affections between people are measurable; once depleted, they truly run out.

Although Chen Yuan was now successful and commanded great respect, Wang Ping still thought of him as the same Yuan bro from the days they used to roam the brothels… He wanted to preserve that “pure” friendship.

That’s why he often mentioned Chen Yuan, as a reminder to himself to be cautious in all matters…

“I haven’t been there often, maybe once every two or three days,” Wang Ping chuckled, his demeanor lacking the imposing air of a county arrest officer and more like the junior who used to follow Chen Yuan around.

“Nice, you seem to be living a better life than me.”

Chen Yuan teased without any reservation.

“Yuan bro, what brings you here this time?”

“Just passing by, and thought I’d drop in to see you and Old Zhao.” After saying this, Chen Yuan waved to Yue Shan and the others:

“You guys go find an inn to stay at; no need to follow me.”

Yue Shan, Yan Qing, and Mo Donghe exchanged looks and nodded, saying in unison:

“We shall follow the order.”

“You all leave too, the matter at Yanyu Building can wait till another day,” Wang Ping instructed the other constables behind him.

“Yes, we will obey,” they replied.

“Yes, we will obey,” they reiterated.

The somewhat stunned constables quickly turned to leave, some even glancing back and whispering among themselves:

“That’s the big brother Wang often talks about, Chen Yuan, right?”

“That’s him, didn’t you hear him call him Yuan bro?”

“That’s the man. I’ve seen him a few times when I was in the jail. It’s said that now he has grown so influential that even the County Magistrate has to bow down before him.”

“Heard he was just like us, a constable, a year ago. How come the gap has become so big?”

“He’s True Gold, destined to become a great figure someday, while we’re just small clods of mud, not the same…”

“A man should aspire to be like that.”

“Alright, enough, let’s go, we haven’t finished patrolling yet.”

…

…

Walking on the streets of North City, everything was still familiar. Chen Yuan and Wang Ping were catching up on some trivial matters, mostly with Wang Ping doing the talking and him listening.

It couldn’t be helped, the gap between him and Wang Ping was too great; he wouldn’t understand even if he spoke.

Although it had been only half a year since he left, there was no barrier between them, as if it were only yesterday.

Through Wang Ping’s words, Chen Yuan also learned about some recent events in Ping’an County, generally uneventful except for the appointment of a new County Magistrate.

Then Wang Ping, striving hard and with Chen Yuan’s support in martial arts, quickly advanced, ascending to the previously vacant position of arrest officer. Wang Ping mentioned,

it seemed that the position of arrest officer was specifically reserved for him by County Magistrate Wu Qingfeng.

As they walked, Chen Yuan and Wang Ping reached the former Zhou’s steamed bun shop, only to find that it was no longer run by familiar people but had changed hands. Chen Yuan pointed at the signboard and asked:

“What happened to Uncle Zhou and his family?”

Although he had left, Wang Ping was still there, so the Zhou family shouldn’t have been bullied; there must be another explanation.

Wang Ping: “After you left, Yuan bro, Uncle Zhou and his family left Ping’an County. They said they were going to join a relative. I told them it was safe with me here, but…they left without saying goodbye.”

Heaving a sigh, Wang Ping looked at Chen Yuan’s profile and added internally:

“Maybe… Xiao Fang also knew she couldn’t wait any longer.”

Nodding, Chen Yuan didn’t ask any further questions.

It was still the same saying, the former small constable suited Xiao Fang, but the later Chen the Official no longer did, not because Chen Yuan looked down on the commoners,

but…

The gap between them was too vast. As his martial arts practice advanced, Chen Yuan was bound to make enemies. What resistance could two ordinary people offer?

It was like this assassination attempt by Gu Chun, even he hardly had any resistance, let alone them.

Chen Yuan’s goal was to seek longevity, and he had to cut off all these mundane relationships. Did he really want to watch someone age and eventually turn into a handful of dust?

Moreover, the most crucial reason was that Chen Yuan, having crossed through, had changed his ideology; he no longer felt romantic affection for Xiao Fang.

Their departure was perhaps for the best; at least they wouldn’t be implicated in future incidents…